Inverted discharge chutes have been previously employed in silos as disclosed in my U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,063,581; 3,063,497; and 3,071,263. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 of U.S. Pat. No. 3,063,581, the inverted chute can be formed by an upright series of bowed members which project inwardly of the silo opposite the discharge openings thereof. Various methods of attaching the bowed members to the silo are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,063,497.
Normally the silage is removed from the silo by automatic unloading apparatus such as disclosed in FIGS. 2 and 3 of U.S. Pat. No. 3,063,581. This appratus includes a power driven rotary collector which breaks up the top layer of silage and conveys it to the center of the silo, where it is picked up by a lateral conveyor and is carried to the top of the inverted discharge chute formed by the bowed members. The conveyed silage drops down the inverted chute and is removed from the silo through the lowermost portion of the discharge opening.
As the silage is unloaded, the level of the silage lowers, and as the automatic unloading apparatus also lowers, this necessitates removal of the uppermost bowed elements to permit the lateral conveyor to carry the silage to the top of the discharge chute. As the silage level lowers further, the next lower bowed element must be removed, and so on down until the silo is empty. To remove the bowed elements, the farmer must climb up a ladder in an exterior chute, loosen and remove the desired bowed element, and then carry it down the chute to the bottom of the silo.
Due to the fact that the bowed element immediately below the unloading apparatus is always removed in the prior patent, some of the silage which has been conveyed to the top of the inverted discharge chute spills out the exposed portion of the discharge opening and falls down the exterior chute instead of remaining within the inverted discharge chute. Silage thus spilled forms a pile at the bottom of the exterior chute, which must be eventually removed. Another drawback of the devices of the prior art is that the chute and door sections are relatively large and heavy and are difficult to remove and carry down the exterior chute.